I don't have an answer for you, but we do know that 'subliminal messages' have been around for years.

My
daughter told me about a technique that is used to keep teenagers from
loitering around businesses...there is a sound that people over 40 (I
think she said) cannot hear, but kids can. Businesses will play that
sound, which is an annoying pitch, and kids will leave. She said kids
have been using it as 'ringtones' on their cell phones so they can get
messages during class time!

My daughter (22) played it for me,
and I couldn't 'hear it', (I'm 53) but it HURT my right ear! It felt
like a flutter, like when you get a loud noise in your hear and you can
almost 'feel' the sound hitting your eardrum. It was very odd.

So,
who knows what might be coming across our tvs and such. I think it
became illegal for them to add subliminal messages to ads, but I'm 100%
sure.